Monday, 7 August 2017

After reading Alan Leslie's article on 'An overlooked parsnip in Britain' in BSBI News No. 134 January 2017, I started to wonder if the parsnip at Rosslare Ferryport could also be Pastinaca sativa subsp. urens (Eastern Parsnip). I had to wait until it flowered. A specimen was sent to Alan and he agreed it was Eastern Parsnip. This new parsnip has sort of a round stem, but has no deep grooves and ridge like the other subsp. have. Also the terminal umbel on Eastern Parsnip is the same size as all the other heads on the same plant. The bottom picture shows a large patch of the Eastern Parsnip on a bank by all the parked new cars and vans. The area has just been fenced in, much harder now to gain access.